Bernard Kay

Blue Psalm - British Fifties Abstract Expressionist exhibited art oil painting

1958

This striking Abstract Expressionist oil painting is by noted Scottish artist Iain Robertson. Entitled Sunset verso, it was painted in 2006 after Robertson had moved to Cornwall to live and work. It is a superb example of Robertson's use of symbols in art and the bold use of orange with heavy impasto against the blue and white is fantastic. A really strong Abstract Expressionist art work by a sought after Scottish artist. Signed inscribed Sunset and dated 2006 verso. Provenance. Cornish estate. Condition. Oil on Canvas, 30 inches by 24 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a white surround frame, 32 inches by 26 inches and in good condition. Iain Robertson (b. 1955) was born in Cyprus but grew up in Edinburgh before studying art, 1978-1982. In 1993 he worked as Artist In Residence at Grizedale Sculpture Park before relocating to Cornwall where he now lives and works. He has retained studio 7 at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, since 2007. Previously Robertson worked in Montgomery Street Studio, Edinburgh, 1991-1999. He has exhibited widely with numerous solo shows in the UK and Europe. His work is held in public and private collections in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, England, USA and Hong Kong. His work was included in the ‘Art Now Cornwall’ exhibition at TATE St Ives Spring 2007 and at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, 2007. The recipient of a number of awards including Scottish Arts Council, British Council and Arts Council, Robertson was the first Scottish recipient of the Pollock Krasner Foundation, New York, in 1988. Notable exhibitions include, Contemporary Abstract Printmaking, Artists- Rachel Clark, Ian Davenport, Christopher Le Brun, John McLean, Mali Morris...

An original large abstract oil on canvas by British Canadian artist William John Bertram Newcombe. This stunning abstract expressionist oil painting is a bold, adventurous and conf...

This stunning abstract expressionist oil on canvas is by artist Helen M Hale. Painted in the 1960's this abstract landscape has strong brushwork and blocks of colour. Labelled verso...

An original oil on canvas by noted Scottish artist William Gear which dates to 1981. Entitled early Spring it is a vibrant and fresh art work with lovely colouring. Signed, dated and titled verso. Provenance. William Gear estate. Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 1981. Condition. Oil on canvas, 48 inches by 32 inches. Excellent condition. William Gear (1915-1997). Few British painters have played an active role in the modern abstract movement of post-war Europe. William Gear was the most passionate and committed exception. He continued the tradition of the Edinburgh-Paris axis established by J.D. Fergusson, Samuel Peploe and others, spending vital years between 1947 and 1950 living and working in Paris. Significantly, in recent years, he received the greatest acclaim in France, Germany and the Netherlands. He was born in 1915 in Methil, Fife, into a mining family; the particular landscape of "pitheads, the sea, rocks, castles, trees, storms and poverty" marked his earliest identity with a place and probably remained the most influential to his art. Years later he recalled as a schoolboy visiting the local art gallery in Kirkcaldy and seeing 12 colourful still-lifes by Peploe. Art-history lessons during student years at Edinburgh College of Art, in particular Byzantine classes under David Talbot Rice, also influenced his concern for structure. This had as much to do with the formal language of painting as sheer delight in the medium itself. Gear never missed an opportunity to show people the merits of a well-constructed painting. On a travelling scholarship in 1937, he chose to study with Fernand Leger, described by Gear as "a keystone for me, seldom abstract, rather a degree of abstraction". The Second World War interrupted these formative years and, by 1940, Gear had joined the Royal Corps of Signals. Dispatched to the Middle East, he still had the discipline to paint - mostly works on paper of damaged landscapes - with exhibitions in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo as well as Siena and Florence. His naturally robust and tenacious temperament was profoundly affected by visiting Bergen-Belsen, and this certainly influenced the later experiments with the black armature. As the British officer in Celle, working for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Control Commission, he focused on securing the safety of the Berlin Art Collection in Schloss Celle, and organised an important series of modern art exhibitions, including the rejected work of Karl Otto Gotz...

This superb British Abstract Expressionist oil painting is by noted artist Bernard Kay. It was painted in 1953 and is titled Irises. Painted in a loose style with a palette of bruise...

This striking exhibited large abstract oil painting is by noted Scottish artist Iain Robertson. Painted in 1998 and exhibited in the same year in London, it was completed just before he moved to Cornwall. Entitled Midsummer verso it is a riot of summery colours and heavy impasto and late twentieth century abstract expressionism. A really uplifting piece of art. Signed and inscribed with title and dated 1998 verso. Provenance. Solo show, 'Art First', London, 1998. Condition. Oil on Canvas. Size 60 x 24 inches Frame. Housed in surround frame, 62 inches by 26 inches and in good condition. Iain Robertson (b. 1955) was born in Cyprus but grew up in Edinburgh before studying art, 1978-1982. In 1993 he worked as Artist In Residence at Grizedale Sculpture Park before relocating to Cornwall where he now lives and works. He has retained studio 7 at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, since 2007. Previously Robertson worked in Montgomery Street Studio, Edinburgh, 1991-1999. He has exhibited widely with numerous solo shows in the UK and Europe. His work is held in public and private collections in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, England, USA and Hong Kong. His work was included in the ‘Art Now Cornwall’ exhibition at TATE St Ives Spring 2007 and at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, 2007. The recipient of a number of awards including Scottish Arts Council, British Council and Arts Council, Robertson was the first Scottish recipient of the Pollock Krasner Foundation, New York, in 1988. Notable exhibitions include, Contemporary Abstract Printmaking, Artists- Rachel Clark, Ian Davenport, Christopher Le Brun, John McLean, Mali Morris...

Diving for Pearls, 1986 Oil on canvas 88 x 76 in. (223.5 x 193 cm) Signed, dated, and titled, verso

James Joyce's Smile, 1984 Oil on canvas 66 x 87 in. (167.6 x 221 cm) Signed, dated, and titled, verso

Grey & Tan Abstract Expressionist Textural Mid-Century Abstract by Peter Witwer Heavily textured, expressive composition by Peter Witwer (American, 1928-1968). Over the top of a heavy base layer of plaster, Witwer has added various layers of oil paint, creating a massive amount of depth and texture. Sections of red peek out from underneath various shades of tan, grey, and black. Spots of blue and purple are used sparingly, hidden in the composition. Presented in a wood frame. Canvas size: 20"H x 40"W Frame size: 26.63"H x 46.63"W Unsigned, but was acquired with a collection of the artist's work. Provenance: Without a will and a family that had little interest in his art, nearly all of his possessions and close to 100 paintings were turned over to SF’s Conservators Office. His friend, Albert Richard Lasker, purchased all of Peter’s possessions (including the art) and has taken care of them until this day, always sensing there was something remarkable about the collection. Wanting Peter’s work to finally be seen, Richard came to Lost Art Salon with Peter’s story after reading about the new gallery in a July, 2005 issue of the SF Chronicle. Born George Peter...

Large Scale Mid-Century Earth-tone Horizontal Abstract by Joseph Vasica Very large scale (70"H x 160"W) (5.8'H x 13.3'L) mid-century abstract with soft edge, grey and burnt sienna...

Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He was born to Czechoslovakian parents in 1892 in New York City. Living in Chicago as a youth, he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, returning to New York when he was 20. From 1913 to 1916, he enjoyed a scholarship from the Art Students League, and worked with John C. Johansen (a portraitist whose expressive style resembled that of John Singer Sargent), and Anders Zorn. He accepted a teaching position at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1916, remaining there until 1921. This enabled him to travel to Europe to study Cézanne’s paintings and works of the Old Masters. He traveled to Paris, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, and Munich seeking the works of Titian, Cranach, Rembrandt, Veronese, and Holbein, which gave him new perspective. Vytlacil studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Munich, settling there in 1921. Fellow students were Ernest Thurn and Worth Ryder, who introduced him to famous abstractionist Hans Hofmann. He worked with Hofmann from about 1922 to 1926, as a student and teaching assistant. During the summer of 1928, after returning to the United States, Vytlacil gave lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, on modern European art. Soon thereafter, he became a member of the Art Students League faculty. After one year, he returned to Europe and successfully persuaded Hofmann to teach at the League as well. He spent about six years in Europe, studying the works of Matisse, Picasso, and Dufy. In 1935, he returned to New York and became a co-founder of the American Abstract Artists group in 1936. He later had teaching posts at Queens College in New York; the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California; Black Mountain College in North Carolina; and the Art Students League. His paintings exhibit a clear inclination toward modernism. His still lives and interiors from the 1920s indicate an understanding of the art of Cézanne. In the 1930s, his works displayed two very different kinds of art at the same time. His cityscapes and landscapes combine Cubist-inspired spatial concerns with an expressionistic approach to line and color. Vytlacil also used old wood, metal, cork, and string in constructions, influenced by his friend and former student, Rupert Turnbull. He eventually ceased creating constructions as he considered them too limiting. The spatial challenges of painting were still his preference. During the 1940s and 1950s, his works indicated a sense of spontaneity not felt in his earlier work. He married Elizabeth Foster in Florence, Italy, in 1927 and they lived and worked in Positano, Italy for extended periods of time. Later on, they divided their time between homes in Sparkill, New York and Chilmark, Massachusetts, where Vyt, as he was affectionately called, taught at the Martha's Vineyard Art...

*PLEASE NOTE UK BUYERS WILL ONLY PAY 5% VAT ON THIS PURCHASE. Red Composition by TOSHIMITSU ÏMAI (1928-2002) Oil on canvas 80.2 x 55.3 (31 ⅝ x 21 ¾ inches) Signed, TOSHIMITSU IMAÏ, dated, 1963 Paris and inscribed in Japanese on the reverse Provenance Private collection, USA Born in Kyoto, Japan in 1928 Imai was part of the 20th century Japanese avant-garde. He began his formal education at the Tokyo State Art Academy where he took up painting. His early works are characterised by colourful abstractions, reminiscent of Favuism. In 1951 Imai was awarded the Kansai-Shinseisaku Prize and in 1952 the prize for the best new artist at the 15th Shinseisaku Salon. Imai relocated to Paris in 1953, the same and subsequent year he exhibited at the Salon de L’Art Sacré. Meanwhile, he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Sorbonne to read medieval history and philosophy. In 1955, Imai completely abandoned representational art in favour of abstraction. After meeting the art critic Michel Tapié via the artist Sam Francis, Imai was the first Japanese artist to join the Art Informel movement. In 1956 Imai was called upon by the Japanese artist Taro Okamoto to curate an exhibition entitled The World: Today’s Art in Tokyo. Artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Jean Fautrier, Lucio Fontana, and Karel Appel gained important exposure in Japan. It was also in 1957, when Imai arranged for Tapié and the artists Georges Mathieu and Sam Francis to travel to Japan, that a connection between Art Informel and Gutai occurred. The Ashiya-based Gutai Art Association formed in 1954 was proclaimed a kindred spirit by Tapié which he subsequently promoted internationally. Founding members included Yoshihara Jiro, Kanayma Akira, Murakami Saburo, Shiraga Kazuo and Shozo Shimamoto...